Green Hill Act One
by Hypo Prower
Summary: Sonic begins to take a trip down memory lane to get away from his friends. But when Dr. Eggman announces another scheme, Sonic begins to understand that he needs his friends more than anything.
1. Green Hill

I

Sonic sped over the peaceful plains of Green Hill. He had had bad memories of this place when he first came here, but all that was over now. There were no robot bees or ladybugs to bug him now. It was just him and nostalgia.

He had left that morning before anyone had wakened. He really just needed a vacation from all of his cohorts. Amy was being particularly annoying lately, Knuckles was…well, Knuckles was Knuckles. Tails was testing some new inventions, and Sonic didn't want to be anywhere near any chemical fumes. Cream and Cheese wouldn't stop watching the "Miss Mary Moo-Moo" marathon with the volume blasting through the house. In other words, the hedgehog just needed some peace and quiet for one day.

He paused when he came up to a nearby rock. He had skipped breakfast to slip out unnoticed, so he was really hungry. Luckily, due to some last minute thinking on his part, he had packed himself some food for the day. Sonic pulled out a picnic basket and settled down to a bagel and a glass of OJ.

As he ate, he thought about what he was going to do during the day. Maybe he would stroll down memory lane by visiting the old pond; or, maybe he would try to attack a Flicky sitting on top of a tree dropping some little specks of bird seed-just for the heck of it.

Sonic took the last sip of his juice and placed the picnic basket by a rock for safe-keeping; his lunch was in there too. He stretched his arms and readied for his run around Green Hill. He didn't want anything ruining this day.

The Blue Blur was dashing to the east, seeing if he could still remember any of the landmarks. He recalled seeing the giant, vertical plateau, and he couldn't figure out how he could forget the giant hill he rolled down in a ball. Sonic, out of habit, skidded to a halt in front of some palm trees; however, to his great surprise, a giant steel animal container was sitting there!

Sonic couldn't believe it. "What on Earth?" he wondered aloud. Shrugging, he did what his instinct told him to do: press the button on top.

The hedgehog reared up and leapt on top of the button. The case opened, but instead of animals, a note appeared. It had a watermark that looked like Eggman's face. Sonic read it out loud.

"Dear rodent,

You picked a bad time to take a vacation! The whole planet is in danger, and there's no way you can stop it! We'll just see what happens to your precious Station Square. I'll be waiting on you, you inferior beast!

Eggman"

The hedgehog gasped and looked at the note, dumbfounded. "I can't believe myself!" he fumed, tossing the note down. "Why did I have to take a day off TODAY?!"

He looked down the road. "I've already been through this entire place to beat Eggman the first time," he noted. "Maybe I can do it again!"

With a new-found confidence, Sonic revved up his feet and dashed down the winding road of Green Hill. "This'll be EASY! I've been through here…while defeating 'bots at the same time." He gazed ahead on the horizon, expecting to see the rocks of Marble Hill. Instead, he skidded to a stop just in time before he plummeted into the lava.

"What the…?" he wondered. His mind snapped back to the note Eggman had written to him. Had the mad scientist actually blasted away all of the rocks so it would stop Sonic?


	2. Marble Garden

II

Sonic glared out into the lava, which seemed to reflect his desperate face. "Aw, this is totally bogus!!" he screamed. He kicked a rock into the lava, which burned on contact. How was he going to stop Eggman now?

"Sonic! Is that you, Sonic?" The hedgehog turned to see an orange figure flying toward him. He smiled.

"Tails!" Of course! Tails could fly him across the lava. As the fox landed, Sonic shook his hand.

"So, what brings you here, little bro?" Tails wore a puzzled expression.

"I was looking for you. Why are you all the way out here?" Sonic tapped his foot.

"Well, I WAS taking a vacation…" he muttered. Tails gasped.

"Oh no! I didn't interrupt you, did I?" Sonic ruffled his hair.

"No, the only person who did that was Eggman. Thanks for asking, though!" Sonic turned to face the lava. "You wouldn't wanna help me, would ya?"

Tails walked up next to Sonic. "Doesn't Marble Hill have a bunch of rocks over it?" he asked. The hedgehog shrugged.

"I thought it did, but I guess Egg-butt blasted them away. I need your help to fly me across the lava so I can get through Spring Yard." Tails frowned.

"Sorry Sonic, but I'm really busy. Don'tcha think you can just run across the lava?" Sonic sighed inwardly. He felt bad about neglecting Tails in the first place just because he was experimenting.

"C'mon…please? Just help out your best buddy ever?" Tails thought for a moment.

"Well…OK. Grab on to my hand." Tails whirled up his tails and flew into the air. Sonic leapt up and grabbed the fox's arms. He rose up his feet as Tails began to sink near the lava.

"So what kinda vacation were you taking?" Tails asked.

"Y'know, the kind where you don't do anything!" Sonic joked. "Nah, I was just taking a little trip down memory lane. But boy, I don't remember having to fly over this lava at all." Suddenly, the fox jerked to a halt.

"What's the hold--WHOA!!!!!?" A huge burst of lava came bubbling up from the hot cesspool. Tails sighed.

"That was close…" he muttered. Sonic glanced up at him.

"Alright, let's keep going."

The two made their way across the hot liquid. Finally, Tails dropped his buddy in exhaustion right as they hit the gray marble. "Thanks Tails," he gave his friend thumbs-up. Tails bowed his head.

"Glad to help," he gasped. Sonic gestured out past the marble, where the sun began to set and bright lights of a casino began to spark.

"You wanna tag along, just for old time's sake?" Tails looked out into the lava again.

"Nah, I'd better get back to the lab. See ya later."

Sonic felt a bit lonely as Tails flew off, but he snapped out of it. He was Sonic the Hedgehog, not some sentimental wimp. Feeling better, he gazed out into the horizon. Getting through Marble Hill may have been one step closer to Eggman, but he still had to conquer the deathly springs and spikes of Spring Yard.


	3. Spring Yard

III

Sonic hurriedly grabbed some rings as he was launched toward a slot machine by tons of springs. He jammed the rings in the slot and grabbed his riches as he plummeted toward the floor as his rings doubled. Pocketing the rings for later, Sonic dashed through the huge casino--only to be encountered by more springs.

"Man, I'm sick of these things!" he scowled. He jetted toward another slot machine, but hurriedly spun into a ball to avoid another gamble. Bad mistake.

While in his ball form, Sonic had absolutely no control over his actions. Springs tossed his back and forth without notice. Sonic tried desperately to get into his normal form, but he didn't have time before another spring launched him into the air.

Suddenly, something firm hit Sonic and knocked him free, allowing his to skid to a stop before the next spring came up. He spun around to face the red face of Knuckles the Echidna.

"Hey Knucklehead," Sonic greeted jokingly. "Come here to blow your savings or something?"

"Apparently I'm here saving your butt," Knuckles said crossing his arms. "Did you even have any control as to what you were doing?" Sonic put his hands behind his head.

"It would be better if I could see…"

"What are you doing here, anyway?"

Sonic blinked. "Oh! I almost forgot!" he spun around. "Eggman's got some new scheme, and I need to get back to Station Square as quickly as I can." Knuckles put his hands on his hips.

"Whatever," he snorted. "But looks like I'd better cover your butt the rest of the way through here." Sonic rubbed his nose.

"Huh, don't bother. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Sonic walked away, Knuckles smirking. Suddenly, Sonic was launched up by an unnoticeable spring. "Gah! Alright, alright, help me out here, Knuckles!" The echidna grabbed the hedgehog's foot and dug his knuckles into a wall. Sonic hoisted himself onto Knuckles' back and the two scurried up a wall.

"Don't get me wrong, riding springs are fun," Sonic explained. "But when you got too many of 'em…" Knuckles hopped off and landed on the ground. Sonic grabbed his arm and dashed across the platform with him.

"Wait, hold up. What are you doing?!" Knuckles exclaimed. Sonic gave an "Adventure" smile and flung the echidna across a ledge. Knuckles rubbed his head as Sonic landed neatly next to him.

"What was that for?" Knuckles demanded. Sonic laughed.

"You helped me, I helped you. Look," The hedgehog pointed up ahead to see that the casino section was thinning into the horizon. Knuckles stretched his arms.

"I'd better get going, Blue," he waved. "I only came to relax a little, but seeing you has ruined my fun." Turning, he crossed his arms.

"I'll be at the alter…if you need me."

Sonic knew Knuckles was talking about the alter to the Master Emerald. "Knuckles wait-! Oh…" the echidna was already too far out of sight.

Sonic sighed and trudged onward with horrid hopes. The next zone, he knew, was Labyrinth, and water was his weakest subject.


	4. Labrynth

IV

Sonic sighed and slipped his sneakers off and pocketed them. He removed his socks and shyly dipped his bare foot in the water. It was freezing.

"I can't go in there!" Sonic tapped his foot. "No way, no how!" Then his thoughts sprang back to Eggman's note.

It WAS Eggman's best scheme yet. You had to give him that.

Sonic growled. "What am I, Sonic the Chicken?" Holding his nose, Sonic went head-first into the water. _I'm not gonna let some lousy water stop me! My name is Sonic the Hedgehog!!_

Swimming the only way he knew how, Sonic lunged forward. Suddenly, he saw bare ground. His heart skipped a beat, but he realized that he had taken his sneakers off. He couldn't run fast. On the other hand, walking would be better than swimming.

Soon, Sonic needed to breathe. He launched toward the surface, only to his head on a ceiling. He stared up, dumbfounded. _Ya gotta be kiddin' me!_

He began to hack and tried to swim farther out. Unfortunately, he hadn't the energy. Things began to grow dark in his world as he sunk closer to the bottom of the sea…

"So, you've finally come around, huh?" Sonic coughed and choked as water emerged from his chest.

"Wha…? What happened…and…_YOU?!_" Sonic sat up and stared in awe as Shadow sat next to him. He frowned and turned away.

"What on earth were you doing at the bottom of the ocean, faker?" Sonic smirked and stood up weakly.

"I could ask you the same thing, you know," he challenged. Shadow stood.

"Touché," he retorted. "But it's not like you to be going for a swim."

"It's not like you to be social."

"Shut up!" Shadow jerked his head over to him. "I save your life and this is what I get?" He turned. "Whatever. What's going on?"

Sonic got serious. "Eggman's got some fancy new thing up his sleeve, and he looks ready to use it." Sonic walked past Shadow. "It's not like you care, though…huh?" Shadow approached the blue hedgehog.

"Actually, Dr. Eggman and I are at a bit of an edge right now," he replied. "So, yes, I do care. What could it be, though?" Sonic stretched his legs.

"Whatever it is, I'm gonna stop it!" Sonic began to dash away. "I'm Sonic the Hedge-WHAA!" He was taken by surprise at the giant pool of water below where he stood. Shadow smiled.

"As long as the water doesn't stop YOU, fist." Sonic sighed and looked desperately at Shadow.

"I need your help on this, man. Do you know how to swim?"

"Hardly."

Sonic looked puzzled. "Then, how did you…?"

Shadow reared up his rocket shoes and blasted across the pool. "Like this! Use speed to your advantage!" Sonic smirked and spun up his feet, only to remember that he didn't have his sneakers on. Hurriedly, he whipped one out of his pocket and put it on his foot. However, when he reached into his other pocket…there was nothing but a sock!

"Yo, faker!" Shadow sped over the Sonic, still on the platform. "My other shoe fell out of my pocket somewhere! How am I gonna run without it?" The black hedgehog sighed.

"One thing after another…" he muttered. "It should be floating around here somewhere." Sonic glanced at the other side of the platform and noticed something floating on the surface of the water.

"There it is!" He declared. Shadow ran over and retrieved it before Sonic knew he was gone. "Thanks," he said, placing his foot in his retrieved footwear.

"Don't mention it," Shadow replied. "Now c'mon, are we going or are you just gonna sit there?" Sonic smirked and dashed across the water, running with a new light.

Finally, on the other side of the pool, Eggman's base was laid out in the distance. Sonic popped his knuckles.

"Alrighty then! Bring it on, chub'!"


	5. Scrap Brain

V

Sonic and Shadow ran side-by-side to the base of the evil Dr. Eggman. Shadow gave Sonic a side glance.

"Do you think that he'll be in here?" he asked. Sonic shrugged.

"Only thing we can do is look, right?"

"Yeah…"

The two paused in front of a giant doorway that led into the factory. Shadow crossed his arms. "How do you propose that we get in there, hedgehog?" Sonic tapped his foot.

"No problem." He spun into a ball and blasted his way through the door. Shadow nodded approvingly and followed Sonic into the base. Sonic glanced around quickly.

"We might wanna be careful in here, faker. From what I remember, Eggman's base is loaded with robots."

Suddenly, wire exploded from the walls and tripped the two hedgehogs. They were tied together by their feet. Shadow struggled.

"What is this?" he demanded. Just then, a giant wrecking ball came crashing down from the ceiling, headed for Sonic and Shadow. Sonic closed his eyes and braced for the impact.

The wrecking ball never hit.

Sonic grimaced and opened one of his eyes. A detached wrecking ball lay beside them. Suddenly, a pink figure leapt down and rested her hammer on the ball.

"Amy!" Sonic exclaimed. The heroine polished her knuckles.

"You should have been more careful, Sonic. You could have gotten hurt!" Shadow lowered his eyelids.

"Thanks for the newsflash," he said sarcastically. "Will you untie us now?" Amy frowned but bent over the binds and untied the two hedgehogs. When Sonic's arms finally were freed, he popped his knuckles.

"Thanks Ames," he said. "Now I gotta crack some Eggman." Amy sighed as she leaned on her hammer.

"O…OK…" she sighed. "Tell me all about…when you get home…" Sonic glanced back and thought for a moment. The only way he was able to get through the vast majority of the places he traveled through was because friends helped him along the way. Looking determined, Sonic spun around and grabbed both Shadow's and Amy's arms.

"No way!" he declared. "You guys have helped me out far too much for me to bail on you now. Hang tight!" Sonic revved up his feet and zoomed through the base.

Soon, he was met with a wall. Shadow shook himself out of Sonic's grasp and stared up. "I can't jump that high," he affirmed. "We might be at a dead end here, blue hedgehog." Sonic snorted and smiled.

"I don't think we're done yet, faker," he said spinning around. "Tails! You in here somewhere, bud?" Sure enough, an orange figure began flying toward the three hedgehogs.

"I thought you might need my help," Tails said when he landed. "So I came out here to make sure that you were OK jumping-wise." Amy smiled.

"Good thing you did that, or else we would be stuck." Tails spun up his tails again and grabbed Sonic's arm. Shadow grabbed Sonic's foot, followed by Amy. The four then landed on the top of the ledge…only to be met by a giant stone wall.

Shadow looked up. "This one touches the ceiling. We can't fly on top of it." Amy tapped her foot and put her hands on her hips.

"Maybe we ARE at a dead end this time." Sonic blinked and grew his silly little grin again.

"No, we aren't!" Sonic turned to Shadow. "Do you think you can channel the Chaos Force to contact Angel Island?" Shadow blinked surprisingly.

"Maybe, I could try…" Shadow grew silent and lifted his hands. "The servers are the seven chaos…chaos is power…power is enriched by the heart…the controller is the one that unifies the chaos…" Tails, Sonic and Amy watched in awe as Shadow's hands glowed a bright green. With a flash, Knuckles appeared in front of the four.

"When I said, 'if you need me'," Knuckles said the Sonic. "I meant…DON'T NEED ME." Sonic chuckled.

"Sorry Knux," he apologized. "But we need you to break this big stone wall for us. Can you do that?"

Knuckles pounded his fists together and smashed into the wall. "Let's just see if I can!" he said winking. The echidna punched the wall until it collapsed from damage. Sonic let out a "WOO-HOO!" and dashed on through.

Inside the next room was a giant generator. Knuckles gasped.

"That must be the bases of Eggman's entire scheme! Why would he leave it unguarded?" Shadow glanced at Sonic.

"Maybe he thought that you would be alone and you wouldn't get this far." Sonic looked down, ashamed.

"You're right, faker," he muttered. "But it's time I prove him wrong!" Right before Sonic was going to spin dash through it, Tails stopped him.

"Wait," he warned. "This looks like a very powerful generator. If you don't destroy this in one shot…" he scuffed his feet.

"It'll destroy you, too."

Sonic blinked and smirked. "But that won't matter!" The other four looked up at him quizzically. "Because I have reinforcements." The others looked at each other and smiled with determination sparking in their eyes.

"OK! I won't back Sonic!" Amy drew her hammer and launched at the generator. Sonic, Shadow and Tails spun into spin balls. Knuckles punched the thing with all his might.

With a magnificent light, the whole thing erupted.

Sonic relaxed at home on the couch. He watched Cream musingly watching her TV show with volume on "High".

"Sonic! You have a second?" Sonic looked over at Tails, who was garbed in a lab coat. "I wanted to test my newest invention on your sneakers. It should make them hyper-fast! Can I?" Sonic slipped off his shoes and handed them to his buddy.

"Go for it, bro."

"Thanks! You won't regret it!"

Sonic sighed contently as Amy cooked something in the kitchen. She then poked her head out the doorway. "Oh, Sonic!" Sonic glanced over. Amy beamed and showed him a meatloaf shaped like a heart. "Tonight will be our dinner…of love!"

Cream laughed as she waited for Sonic's reaction. However, he just smiled "Yeah, you go ahead and do that, Amy." Amy grew hearts in her eyes and skipped back to the kitchen. Then the blue hedgehog laid down his head and shut his eyes.

It was good to be home.

-End-


End file.
